In the midst of his All-Star first half, Orioles reliever Brad Brach knew how hard it was to pitch that well for a month, let alone three months, let alone an entire season.
Since his trip to San Diego for the All-Star Game in mid-July, however, Brach is seeing the flip-side of that, and seeing how slight the difference is between an All-Star reliever and one in a funk.
Brach entered the Orioles' 5-1 win Tuesday over the Texas Rangers with a 4-0 lead in the eighth inning, but allowed a run on two hits and a pair of walks before leaving the bases loaded for Darren O'Day, who successfully got out of the inning for him.
He recounted the outing and all the two-strike pitches that could have changed things, and admitted it's been tough going since the break.
"I think to put up [numbers] like I did the first half, you have to have a lot of luck," Brach said. "It seemed like every ball that's hit hard, the play is made, the double play is made, and it gets me out of the jams. I'm just kind of going through it. It's one of those spots where I'm one pitch away, basically. Every inning. I've just got to make that pitch and try to get out of this little funk."
Brach had a 0.91 ERA (five earned runs in 49 1/3 innings) and a 0.82 WHIP in the first half of the season, but has a 3.68 ERA with a 1.50 WHIP in eight appearances since the break. Manager Buck Showalter thinks it's mostly the results that are different.
"The end game, a little bit, but he was a pitch away from getting out of it," Showalter said. "The groundball that went through, and a tough play by [first baseman Chris Davis]. Everybody's got a little bit of wear and tear on the team. Everybody."
One member of the Orioles bullpen that doesn't have that usage, O'Day, ended up cleaning up for Brach and pitching a perfect ninth inning for his third save of the season. Since returning from the disabled list on July 24, O'Day has allowed one hit and walked one while striking out seven in 4 2/3 innings.
"He comes in with the bases loaded, you know he's going to get out of it," Brach said. "He does it all the time. Definitely, having him back, he's a huge help. It doesn't leave all the burden to a couple of guys, two or three guys. We've got a whole bullpen ready to go."
O'Day returned from a hamstring injury on July 24 and has produced four scoreless outings since.
"I don't know if anybody made a better addition before the trade deadline than we did with Darren," Showalter said.
Both O'Day and Brach are effective against left-handed hitters, and are reliable almost to a fault. Brach seized the eighth-inning role in O'Day's absence, and even as one's struggles have coincided with the other's return, they're both quite happy to lessen each other's workload and pick one another up when the time comes.
"Brad, what a first half he's had," O'Day said. "I've been saying it for a long time. Brad's going to be a closer some time, somewhere in his life. Brad's a heck of a relief pitcher. He's picked me up quite a few times. It's nice for me to return the favor."